Quality of Public Services: Irish Public Perceptions and Implications for Renewal

14/12/2011

Quality of Public Services: Irish Public Perceptions and Implications for Renewal

Least Well-Off Give Ireland’s Public Services Lower Quality Ratings The least well-off give the lowest quality ratings to Ireland's public services, according to new ESRI research. Those who are economically vulnerable, and thus rely most on public services, rate the quality of those services below the rest of Irish society. The study suggests new ways to improve their experience of public services. The new research uses the European Quality of Life Survey and is based on responses obtained before recent cuts to public services began. Representative samples of people in European countries were asked to rate public services in the areas of education, health, transport, care for the elderly and pensions. The data for Ireland reveal that only public education received a high public rating by EU standards, while the rating given to the health services was one of the lowest among the fifteen Western European countries. People classified as economically vulnerable gave lower ratings to all services except education, even after the ESRI study controlled for some factors relating to people’s personal experience, such as difficulty accessing health care, lack of local public transport and the tendency to give generally negative ratings. The Government’s plans for reform of the public services contain a commitment to “customer focus”. The new study suggests various ways in which feedback from public service users might be used to improve public service quality, especially as experienced by those in more economically vulnerable groups. Commenting on the findings, study author Dr. Dorothy Watson said: “The Government commitment to 'customer focus' needs to be given real content, by involving the public, especially the least well-off, in the design of public services and in monitoring quality. A beginning can be made right now. International research shows that delivering good quality public services is as much about how the service is designed and delivered as it is about the amount spent.”

Note to Editors: 1. "Quality of Public Services: Irish Public Perceptions and Implications for Renewal" by Dr. Dorothy Watson (ESRI) is the 6th paper in a special series of ESRI studies that aims to survey available evidence to address issues related to Ireland’s ongoing economic crisis. It will be published online on the ESRI website at 00:01 a.m. Wednesday 14 December. The embargo is until 00:01 a.m. Wednesday 14 December. A copy of this paper is available under embargo on request. 2. A total of 12 studies are being undertaken as part of this “Renewal” project, which is supported by FBD Trust. 3. The paper will be presented at a conference on improving public services to be held at the ESRI on the morning of Wednesday 14 December, which will also feature papers on the potential role of pay for performance in health services and on what can be done to improve the quality of second-level education. Further information on the Conference is available on our website.